“The 1,700 officers of the Capitol Police force risk their lives every day protecting constituents, staff and members of Congress,” said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina Republican. “The right thing to do is to commend these men and women. They deserve a pat on the back, which is more appropriate than what they’ve gotten lately.” The resolution, by Mr. McHenry and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida Republican, which could be voted on this week, comes after increasingly harsh accusations by Mrs. McKinney, the Georgia Democrat who was stopped by Capitol Police last week for bypassing a metal detector…

McKinney has been aggressively publicizing the incident, calling press conferences on each of the past two business days and even attracting a mention on the front page of The New York Times, something that the dozens of House and Senate Democrats combined couldn’t match when they unveiled their homeland-security plan last week.

Now, with McKinney facing a possible arrest warrant, the media frenzy is set only to escalate. The U.S. Capitol Police referred the issue to the U.S. District Attorney’s office for prosecution yesterday.

All of the attention has some Democrats concerned that McKinney is drawing the limelight away from their policy goals and Republicans’ ethical missteps to focus on a momentary, disputed encounter in a Capitol Hill hallway.

“There’s been a lot of eye-rolling,” said an aide to a moderate Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The national attention it’s been getting has been unfortunate. It’s becoming a distraction.”

A Democratic strategist concurred.

“This isn’t the view of Democrats that we want to project in the tough races, one of victims and race-baiting,” the strategist said.